Shadows of Hyrule
by yamijenny
Summary: Link thought Ganondorf was the last one he's have to fight to save hyrule and rescue princess zelda... what if... he was wrong
1. Meet Zilly

The Shadow of Hyrule

She smiled as she ran. The joy of being alive. The sun kissed her face with warmth. She had no idea how long her happiness would last. To be honest, she didn't care at this moment. She would make the best of this moment. Running through the once lush fields, which once teemed with flowers, made her stop.

The field was now black with sadness and tears. Black from the sorrow that _he_ brought. She knelt in the field letting her hands brush the col, barren, blackened ground. On the verge of tears she stood and looked around. The sky was a deep purple, the ground black, the clouds a bloody red, the water a sickly green ooze, and the sun... the poor sun... was pitch black.

There were no towns, no roads, and no people. She was tiered of the lonely life she had.

She wondered into the forest, the trees all dead. Once in the middle, sobbing, she walked into the crude wooden shack she called home. Looking at the paintings on the walls usually made her more upset. Right now though it was just what she needed. She looked at the black haired red eyed man in each of them.

"Big brother... I... I've gotten taller... Soon... Soon I'll be as tall as you were. I've been training. Training to avenge you and father. Then I can restore our home. I've also been practicing magic. Once I beat _him_ I will bring you back with the piece of fathers magic. I miss you. I know we didn't get to spend much time together because you had to go and fight. The time we did spend together though meant a lot to me. But I wonder, why did father never let me help? You never did answer that one for me." She hugged one small painting she had done of her only family. She then went to a mirror and brushed her long white hair, it complimented her red eyes and tanned skin. She opened the drawer and pulled out a simple red dress with gold accents.

After getting dressed she took a wooden box from the vanity, tracing the carved 'S.Z.' on it.

"Big brother... Father..." She opened the box; a small golden triangle lay in it glittering. "Time has come for me to do more than just talk. I'm scared though, I know nothing of that land, nothing of their customs or of what is there. It might take me a while but I will do it." She put her left hand on it and it absorbed into it. In its stead a glowing symbol appeared on her hand. She gazed at the symbol for a moment before putting on a pair of red gloves. She moved her hand toward the wall and a portal opened. Through it she saw beautiful green fields, blue sky, white clouds, and a normal shining sun.

"This… this is how home is supposed to look like." She sneered angrily glaring at the land. "Hyrule." And she stepped through.

* * *

Zelda was about to play the ocarina to send Link back when suddenly both shivered at the dark energy they felt and the feeling of dread that accompanied it.

"Oh no, what could this be?" Zelda asked worriedly.

"Such darkness, yet … this one is… somehow different from anything I have felt before." Link responded quietly.

"I agree it is. To whom does it belong though?"

"I don't know. I do know though, that the master sword and I are still needed for the good of Hyrule." Zelda nodded.

"Yes, will you help the land of Hyrule once again Link?" Link smiled.

"Of course, Princess." Link bowed. Zelda smiled and played a song sending Link back to the temple of time where he could start his search.

* * *

As the young woman wandered around she could hardly tell the difference between this land and the way her homeland was supposed to be. The only differences were the roads so far. Well so she thought. Until, she spotted a roof, surrounded by a huge wall of stone and dirt, which was topped off by a fence. She walked around the large wall, this was far too big to be just a home. Once half way around she found an entrance, curious she stepped through.

"Wow…" was all she could way as she saw the horses galloping about.

"What… what are they?" she asked, more herself than anyone else.

"Hm? Oh hello miss!" A red haired woman greeted as she approached her.

"Hello, could you tell me what those are?" She asked the woman pointing at the horses.

"Those are horses. Once of the animals we take care of and train here at the Lon Lon Ranch. My name is Malon."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Zilly." She replied quickly adopting a different name for herself. This woman did not need to know her real name.

"That's a cute name." Malon smiled

"Thank you."

"Have you really never seen a horse before?" Zilly shifted a bit, nervous.

"Well… I never got to see much of my homeland before it was ruined." Zilly explained.

"Oh you poor girl. So you're not from Hyrule?"

"No, I am not."

"Well then welcome to Hyrule. Have you been here long?"

"No, I just arrived today. Thank you for the warm welcome. This is a beautiful land." Zilly smiled. This woman was nice. Perhaps she could stay here a while and get used to this land before making any moves without understanding possible dangers.

"I think so. Especially now that the evil Ganondorf has been defeated by the Hero of Time." Malon smiled and looked a little dream struck. Zilly giggled.

"Someone you are fond of?"

"Hm? Oh, well sort of. I mean what woman doesn't have a preference for hero's and knights?" Malon smiled.

"I don't know of one yet." Zilly laughed, "May I pet one?"

"A knight? I don't know depends on the knight I suppose." Malong laughed. Zilly laughed as well.

"No I meant one of the horses."

"Sure." Malon smiled.

"Do they bite?"

"No not really." She led Zilly closer to the horses. Zilly, after jumping a few times when they brushed against her or sniffed her, managed to pet one that was standing still.

"They are very pretty."

"I agree. We also have Cows and Cucco." Malon explained smiling at the young woman's naïve nature.

"What are they all used for?"

"Cows are used for milk, Cucco for eggs, and Horses for riding."

"Riding?"

"Yes, people get on their backs and the horses then take the person where they need to go."

"hm." Zilly was silent for a moment, then… "doesn't that hurt them?"

"No, not if the horse is well taken care of."

"That's good." She turned her attention back to the horse she was petting. It had a red mane, black fur, and a red tail.

"That one is finding it hard to find anyone to love it outside of this ranch." Malon told her sadly

"Why? It's pretty, nice and smells comforting." Zilly asked as she nuzzled the horse. She closed her eyes. She could almost feel the horse's previous owner's alliance.

"Well usually he is really mean, but other than that he was Ganondorf's horse."

Zilly tried not to look too surprised. "Really?"

"Yes."

"I see… How much does he cost? I don't have any money right now, but once I get some I will buy him and take very good care of him. Regardless the price." Zilly looked at her.

"Well, I never thought about it since no one has cared about this horse. Everyone wants us to put him down."

"No, I won't allow it. It's not this horse's fault who was his owner. Please, let me buy him I will even work for you if I must. You have no idea what it would mean to me for me to have this horse. Besides, he likes me." Indeed the horse was nuzzling her.

Malon was at a loss for words. Why this woman wanted this horse so badly she didn't quite understand. What she did see was that this horse felt comfortable with Zilly and that it was almost tame in her care.

"Well he seems very calm with you. I have never seem him this way. You can work here and soon he will be yours." Zilly hugged her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Zilly smiled being very happy. In just a short time this horse would belong to her and she would be one step closer to her goal.


	2. Link meets Zilly

Chapter 2

Link looked at the sage of light Rauru.

"What can you tell me of this new evil?" Link asked the sage humbly.

"I know very little. This evil hasn't been in Hyrule long. I do know it is not to be trifled with. The best place to search for it would be a few miles from the lake, where it appeared from. I am sorry but this is all I can tell you."

"Great Sage… I am worried. This feeling I get from it… it is familiar but I can't tell from where." Link confessed.

"Hmm, this is worrying. I am sure you will find the answers when you face it. I will update you when I find anything out." Rauru smiled, "You will be successful." Link smiled and bowed.

"Thank you. I will start my search then." With that said Link left the temple of time and started his journey.

As he rode over the plains of Hyrule he kept look out for anything that could be wrong. He couldn't find a single thing that was out of place though. This only worried him more. No one knew about this evil, and it looked like nothing was wrong. As the day passed Navi had something to say.

"We should stop somewhere Link. We don't want you loosing strength because you didn't rest."

"I guess you're right. Let's stop at Kakariko Village." He rode Epona to the Village. Link, having already ridden past the ranch, had to ride about a day to get to the village.

Once he got there he jumped off Epona. He patted her and headed up the steps. The guard greeted him warmly as always.

"Hello there Link. How are you today?"

"I'm alright, just stopping in for some supplies."

"Oh then you're just in time. A new delivery is about to arrive from Lon Lon Ranch. Malon is bringing their new worker by as well to show her the ropes."

"Oh that's good. At least Malon will now have another woman to talk to. She doesn't get that much."

"Apparently this will be her first delivery. So most of the people haven't met her and are excited to meet her. I am included, because apparently she's not from Hyrule." This caused Link to tense up.

"You don't say? Have you heard anything about her?" Navi knew what her partner was thinking this could possibly be the one they were looking for.

"Well I asked Malon about her, being the Guard and all I had to make sure she was safe." Link nodded in agreement. "So Malon told me she was a hard worker that had arrived only a few days ago. This young woman apparently had to flee her homeland because it had been completely ruined. She also told me this young woman was very kind, quiet, was eager to learn, and learns really fast." This information put Link at ease somewhat.

"I see. Well we'll get to meet her soon enough." Link smiled. The Guard nodded.

"Yup, well have a good time." Link nodded and walked into town.

A little busier than normal, the town was more alive than it had been in a long time. This was partly due to Link defeating the evil king Ganondorf. Link was warmly greeted by adults and children alike. The kids ran to him for autographs from The Hero of Time. Link was a bit embarrassed but he couldn't let these children down and gave them all autographs. Just when he thought that he was done a group of women surrounded him asking him if he was single, if he was looking for a woman, and the like.

"S-sorry Ladies, I am currently too busy for a relationship."

"Aw…" and "Let us know when you're looking k?" were some of the answers he received. Thankfully it was at this time that the guard approached the town square.

"Alright everyone, the Lon Lon Ranch cart has arrived. All men who can carry anything come with me." Several men followed him, including Link, down the steps to the cart where Malon and her white haired worker stood.

"Zilly are you sure you can lift that? The guard went to get people to do it."

"I'd like to at least try; after all I helped you load them." Came her soft voice.

"Well yes, but you'd have to carry it up those steps." Malon pointed at the steps. Zilly looked at the steps.

"Oh, I see what you mean." Zilly looked down.

"Not to worry Miss, we'll take care of it." Link told Zilly with a smile as they approached the cart.

"Oh, thank you very much Sir." Zilly said while turning toward him. When she saw him she stared. Memories flooded her mind.

"Hello Link. This is Zilly, our new helper on the ranch. Zilly, this is Link, The Hero of Time who defeated the evil Ganondorf." Malon introduced them.

"Oh!" Zilly curtsied, "My apologies, I had no idea. It is my pleasure to meet you."

"It's alright," Link responded kind of embarrassed, "Let's get this delivery into town." Zilly nodded. In no time at all the men had the merchandise in town where it belongs.

After the hard work Zilly and Link talked a bit.

"So where are you from Zilly, and where was it like? I heard you weren't from Hyrule."

"Far outside the Hyrule boarders… the name doesn't matter anymore…"

Link was saddened by the sadness that snuck its way into her red eyes and her soft voice. "Are you going to be ok?"

"… My home used to be beautiful, a land of great wonders, very much like Hyrule. I lived there and my big brother visited me as much as he could. He worked for our father so I didn't see him a lot. Then one day… not too long ago the actions of one man destroyed my home. The sky is purple… the ground is black… the clouds look like they are filled with blood… No one would be able to drink the water; it's like green ooze. There is no one… not a single living thing. Not. One. All this is the fault of one single man. The same man who killed both my brother and father." A few tears crawled down her cheeks. She had thought that this would hurt a lot less, telling this man her story. Link took one finger and carefully wiped her tears away.

"Please don't cry Zilly. It doesn't suit you. I know it must hurt, but you're here now. I won't let anything happen to you or the good people of Hyrule. I'm sure your family wouldn't want you to be sad." Zilly smiled a bit through her tears.

"Thank you Link you remind me a lot of my big brother." Link smiled at that and patted her head.

"That's a big compliment because I'm sure that, with a sister like you, he was a great man." Zilly smiled, and as the sun set she watched it.

"It feels like it's been so long since I've seen a sunset like this. There are so many colors, so much beauty, as if someone has taken a brush and painted the sky." Zilly mused.

"I guess I can't imagine a world without all of this. Meeting people like you help me appreciate everything in the lovely land even more."

"Never take what you have for granted. It won't be like this forever. Someday, one never knows when, all of this will disappear." Link frowned at this.

"What a sad view, even if this were all to die I believe it would come back; maybe even better than before. Nothing stays gone forever Zilly."

Zilly stood up, silent, and in tears. Link looked up at her unsure of what could be wrong. Zilly looked at link from the corner of her eye. He could now see the tears that started rolling down her face again.

"You can only say that so calmly because you have never lost everything. You never watched everything you love being destroyed before your very eyes by one solitary man. Then, of course, you have to live in this barren land with no one to converse with, only you and your thoughts and the knowledge that somewhere out there is your family's killer. You have no idea what you are talking about. No idea what you are taking oh so lightly." With that said Zilly started briskly walking out of town… soon breaking into a run.

"Zilly wait!" Link called after her as he stood, but it was too late she had already ran out of town.


	3. The Road to the Ranch

Chapter 3

Link followed after Zilly. He wanted to explain himself, apologize or something. He didn't intend to trample on her feelings like he did. Had he taken it too lightly? He sighed.

"Great job Link. Make a young lady cry shortly after meeting her. Just great." He told himself.

Once he was out of town he walked down the steps and saw Zilly crying on Malon's shoulder. He could hear the conversation now.

"It's ok Zilly he didn't mean it like that. He never would."

"Then he should choose his words more carefully! … oh Malon I miss them so much… so very much. Father… brother… it's just not fair… why... why did they have to die?"  
Link looked down in sadness… what had he done? This poor girl… He had lost a lot as well but he still had a family, the Kokiri. He was never alone, even after he had to leave the forest he still had Navi and could talk to Saria with the ocarina. So he had no idea what it was like to be completely alone in such a harsh land as what Zilly had described.

The wind blew harshly tousling Links short hair. It tousled Zilly's as well but that made some of her white hair cling to her face from her tear wetted cheeks. Navi poked partially out from under Link's hat not daring to come out all the way because of the wind.

"I feel sorry for her. She has lost everything." Navi said quietly.

"Yea, and I didn't exactly help the situation… I wish I knew how to make her feel better…" Link sighed again.

Malon got into the cart, Zilly sitting next to her and put her head on her shoulder.

"It'll be ok Zilly… Don't cry… I'm sure they wouldn't want you to cry…" Malon told her while stroking her hair. Malon started singing a song, and Link smiled a little, pulled out his ocarina, and played along. As Zilly looked to see who was playing as she fell asleep she saw Link covered in shadow from the gate of town.

"Big…. Brother? ..." and with that she fell asleep. Link stopped playing and walked up to Malon.

"She is such a sweet and kind young woman. She tries to be happy she really does but the weight of her loss must be great. I don't know if I could… go on with such a loss. All the people here in Hyrule that have lost someone because of Ganondorf still have others around them to help pick them up… but Zilly had no one. Not another living soul. Whoever did this to her must be far more evil than Ganondorf." Malon told Link.

"By far…" Links eyes widened. That's it! That had to be the new evil! What or whoever did that to Zilly's home must have come to Hyrule to do the same! "I wonder if Zilly knows who did it." Malon shrugged.

"Right now she is working to make money to buy Ganondorfs horse."

"oh ok." Link did a double take, "wait what?"

"Yes she's working hard to earn enough. I asked her about it and she said she'd feel safer if she could travel Hyrule on horseback. I told her she could choose any of the others but she just wanted that one so we worked out a price."

"I… I see." Link was slightly confused. Why would anyone want that man's horse? "Why would…"  
"I don't know I haven't asked her." Malon shrugged. "At least I know he will be taken good care of." Link nodded in agreement.

"Does she talk about her home often?" He asked after they got moving.

"Not really. I know it's a sensitive subject so I try not to bring it up."

"I… I didn't mean to make her so sad." Link sighed.

"I know. You would never do something like that on purpose." Malon smiled and patted his shoulder.

"I wish I knew how to make it up to her."

"I don't know what to tell you on that one." Malon looked out at the field as the cart slowly moved.

"What I said… it doesn't even seem like such a horrible thing. I simply told her that her view of everything ending eventually was a sad view and that things will never stay gone…" Link hoped that Malon would be able to tell him he did nothing wrong.

"Hmm. I can guess her response. Something about you not knowing what you're talking about right?"

"Yea…"

"…Well look at it her way. Here is someone you've never met before that you have just shared your story with, basically telling you that you are upset for no reason because things will grow again. Yes things will grow again and life will return… but everything you knew and held dear will still be gone. It won't be the same." Malon said after a moment of silence.

"I suppose that does sound kind of cold… but I never said thing will be the same…"

"Link, you and I can talk about this and speculate until we are blue in the face. In the end, the only one who knows what sounded so cold and cruel is Zilly. Maybe you can ask her when she wakes up." Link sighed.

"Yea. Why did she fall asleep so quickly anyway?" The sun finished setting and the stars started to shine. Link looked up at the twinkling lights and wondered if Zilly had ever seen a sky like this. Maybe he did take this all for granted and perhaps that is what angered this young woman so. Malon was right he would simply have to ask her later.  
"She was up early this morning to help with everything. Since the village is so far from the ranch, about half a day's ride, we all had to get up early to load the cart. She's still not used to the early mornings I guess." Malon looked up as well. "It's a nice and clear sky tonight."

"Yea it's been rainy for too long."

"Link, what do you plan to do now that Ganondorf is dead?" Link let out heavy sigh.

"I wish I could say relax."

"… there is more out there isn't there?" Malon looked worried.

"Yea…but it hasn't done anything yet. No activity. It makes me nervous."

"Do you know what it is yet?"

"No. We have no idea. I just felt a dark presence I knew it was evil but I can't feel it anymore. I know it's in Hyrule, but not where." Link looked down somewhat ashamed.

"I see. I would say then that you should rest while you can. If no one knows who or what the evil is and it has not acted yet then I don't think you will be able to find it yet." Link sighed. He knew Malon was right but he didn't want to believe it. At that moment they hit a bump in the road and Zilly plopped from having her head on Malon's shoulder to Links lap. Link smiled a bit and stroked her hair. He hoped to find the evil so this sweet, hurt young woman would not have to go through the same thing twice.


End file.
